We believe that The Story of IKEA should be told by telling the many smaller stories, forming a mosaic of people and places, ideas and events, failures and successes. The stories are told through historical documents and artefacts, and from different perspectives by the people who were there. Each story adds a piece to the puzzle of The Story of IKEA. A story that continues to grow every day.
About the digital museum
Our digital museum, the Story of IKEA, is open to anyone who is curious about IKEA and life at home, anywhere and anytime. Get new perspectives from digital exhibitions and access to IKEA catalogues through the ages.
Browse the stories on a timeline running from the Ice Age in Småland, Sweden, and up to today. You decide where to start and where to go next on your journey through the decades. Let your curiosity and special interests lead the way. Don’t be surprised if a story set in the 1990s suddenly takes you back to events in a different decade, or the other way around.
Each story reflects the winding road that has led up to a particular point in time, an event, a new agenda or a smart solution for life at home. Some things have taken a lifetime or more from start to finish, while other things happened very quickly.
In addition to stories about life at home and IKEA products, a multitude of stories reveal the inner workings of IKEA. And whether it’s about a triumph or a great mistake, a dangerous adventure or a revolutionary collapse, we do our best to tell it like it was.
The Story of IKEA cannot be told without listening to all the people who’ve been part of it. Thousands of people have shared their memories from a personal perspective. Their narratives add lived experiences to other historical records such as protocols, drawings, video and sound recordings from the vast IKEA Museum Archive & Collection going back more than 70 years. As with all historical inquiry, we employ sourcing, contextualisation, confirmation and evaluation of all our sources, and ensure multiple perspectives. Our ambition is always to get as close to the truth as possible.
Hundreds of IKEA products are shown and talked about in The Story of IKEA. Some of them are still available in IKEA stores and online, while many others have been discontinued. Some of the products are available at some stores but are no longer part of the IKEA global product range. To find out about a particular product, explore ikea.com.
Please note that when a price is shown for a particular product in The Story of IKEA, it refers to the recommended retail price of the product at the time of its release. All prices are given in euros (pre-euro prices have been converted at an exchange rate of SEK 10 = EUR 1).
Thanks to all the wonderful people at IKEA and all the wonderful people working together with IKEA for sharing your memories and perspectives. Thank you for giving your views on IKEA, its culture and identity and its many, many stories. Thank you all for being brutally honest about failures and successes, missteps and big leaps forward. Thank you for your enthusiasm and engagement in creating a better everyday life for the many people. And to everybody else who’s eager to learn about The Story of IKEA to learn and be inspired, thank you for being curious about IKEA and life at home.
Please note that we have made great efforts to find any rightsholders for e.g. images and videos used in The Story of IKEA. If we have missed anyone, please contact IKEA Museum.